Study Sheet
Lakoff, “The Contemporary Theory of Metaphor”
Reddy, “The Conduit Metaphor”
Croft & Cruse, Chapter 8, “Metaphor”
Linguistics 5430
Spring 2007
The Main Points
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In the Lakoffian theory of metaphor, metaphors are
conceptual
mappings
from
a
(typically
concrete,
experientially primary) source domain to a target domain,
the latter of which is typically abstract, with poorly
understood or controversial structure.
On this account, a metaphor is not a linguistic form,
although linguistic forms express or invoke metaphors.
This means that what people often refer to as ‘dead
metaphors’ are in fact linguistic expressions whose literal
and figurative meanings are no longer linked, or whose
literal meanings are opaque to modern speakers. Examples are
pedigree, scion, flourish, branch, urchin, maverik.
Mappings can be resolved into a set of ontological
correspondences: equivalence relations between an entity,
relation or property in the source domain and one in the
target domain.
The way that we establish the existence of a metaphorical
mapping is through the identification of systematic polysemy
in the lexicon (vocabulary) of a language. For example, the
word rise has a primary meaning, ‘go higher’, and a
secondary meaning, ‘increase’. The word go up, which has the
same primary meaning as rise, also has the same secondary
meaning, indicating that this secondary meaning is not just
an idiosyncratic fact about the word rise. Further, rise’s
antonym, fall, is also its antonym on its secondary meaning,
‘increase’. In other words, if the word field that a word
belongs to on its primary meaning is the same as that which
it belongs to on its secondary meaning, then we have
evidence for the existence of a metaphorical mapping, e.g.,
MORE IS UP.
1. What, according to
study of metaphor?
Lakoff,
is
Reddy’s
contribution
to
the
2. What are the five types of evidence that Lakoff gives for the
existence of a system of conventional metaphors?
3. According to Lakoff, can a metaphorical expression be literal?
4. Within Lakoff’s framework for the analysis of metaphor, what
is the difference between the equational expressions “love is
a journey” and LOVE IS A JOURNEY?
5. Describe the conduit metaphor
epistemic correspondences.
in
terms
of
ontological
and
6. What is Lakoff’s Invariance Principle and what does it have to
do with image schemas?
7. What metaphorical mappings does Lakoff claim are evoked by the
Dylan Thomas line Do not go gentle into that good night?
8. What, according to Lakoff, is
system?
DUALITY
within a metaphorical
9. What does Lakoff mean when he says that metaphor is based on
correspondences rather than similarity?
10.
ive an example of a metaphorical inheritance hierarchy.
G
11.
ive three sentences which exemplify the conduit metaphor. Now
change these so that they reflect instead Reddy’s Toolmakers’
Paradigm.
G
12.
eddy says: “Divergence of readings of a single text are not
aberrations. They are tendencies inherent in the system.” How
does the Toolmakers’ Paradigm capture this idea?
R
13.
hat is Reddy’s definition of INFORMATION?
definition, can information be stored?
W
14.
hat is Reddy’s definition of
According
to
this
W
COMMUNICATION?
15.
escribe the metaphorical mapping underlying the following
English expressions, using ontological correspondences:
I find her story very hard to swallow.
She ruminated about that issue for a long time.
Thatís a book you can really sink your teeth into.
My complaint is not against privatization," Councilwoman
Charlotte Craven said. "But I do hate to have this rushed
through at the last minute and crammed down my throat.”.
D
All you have to do on the exam is regurgitate a bunch of
formulas.
I’m starved for some intelligent conversation.
You should probably digest the proposal for a while before you
attempt to write a reply.
Don’t sugarcoat it. Just give it to me straight.
She’s a voracious reader.
That topic is getting pretty stale.
Thatís a half-baked idea.
Their proposal was basically just warmed-over Marxist theory.
I find that option fairly unpalatable.
The teachers are used to spoon-feeding the material to the
students.
16. According to Croft and Cruse, “a metaphor involves not only
activation of two domains, not only correspondences, but also
a species of blending of two domains”. They argue that
metaphorical construal involves fusing of two domains. Explain
how the ‘surgeon as butcher’ example illustrates this point.
17. Give an example of metaphor and one of simile that show why,
according to Croft and Cruse, the former is considered an open
mapping and the latter a restricted mapping.
18. Give an example of a metaphor-simile blend. Explain how the
simile clarifies this metaphor in your example.
19. Give an example
includes metonymy.
of
a
metaphorical
expression
that
also